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BY THE SENATE, 

January 23d, 1865. 
2,000 copies ordered to "be printed. 



ADDRE S S 



OF 



Hon. CHRISTOPHEK C. COX, 



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DELIVERED IN THE 



SENATE CHAMBER, 



ANNAPOLIS, JANUARY 11th, 1865. 



ANNAPOLIS: 

RICHAED P. BAYLY, PKINTER. 
1865. 



or 



FU5 



ADDRESS. 



Senators: — It is my pride and pleasure, upon the thresh- 
old of the new duties I am about to assume, to congratulate 
you, as I do most cordially, upon the auspicious prospect 
which, at the opening of the present year, is revealed to our 
gratified vision. 

A long and sanguinary civil strife has been attended by the 
usually chequered fortunes of war, and, at times, clouds of. 
gloom have hung heavily around the hearts and homes of the 
loyal citizens of the republic, as disaster upon disaster has fol- 
lowed the march of the brave armies of the Union ; but, in 
the darkest hour of the nation's peril, faith in ultimate tri- 
umph has continued to animate the breasts of patriotic men, 
both in council and field, until the realization of hope and the 
result of self-sacrificing efibrt have dawned at length, to be 
succeeded by the full splendor of perfect success. The dwel- 
lers in the vales of Alpland linger in the shadows of night, 
while far above them the morning sun gilds the summit of 
Mount Blanc ; and thus we, in the oft-gathering gloom, have 
been enabled to descry, above and beyond the clouds surround- 
ing us, the dawning glory of a restored nationality. 

Living, as we in Maryland do, under the old flag, anchored, 
as we still are, thank God, to the beneficent Government of 
our Fathers, and, therefore, presumed to be solicitous for the 
safety and perpetuity of our time-honored and blood- bought 
institutions, the prospect of a peace, not compromised or 
patched up, but conquered and enduring, must be a subject 
for the most fervent congratulation, as well as of heartfelt 
gratitude to the Great Disposer of human events. 

But the war is not concluded ; and the zeal, sacrifice and 
energy which have been so lavishly bestowed upon the cause 
of the Union, must not be, for a single instant, remitted. 
We shall be deeply and inexcusably culpable if we fail to use 
every proper means within our reach to bring to a speedy end 
this frightful revolt, and re-establish the nationality at which 
it strikes. Every agency must be exhausted, every personal 
sacrifice ofiered, before we should be willing to entertain, as 
possible, the fact of dismemberment ; the dissolution of the 
bonds of the Union ; the final decline and overthrow of the 



Government. Such spirit and determination will alone nerve 
the strong arm which is surely stifling the rebellion, and 
which no earthly power can arrest or paralyze in its gigantic 
struffSfle for the right. 



'&&' 



The animating spirit of the conspiracy, the implacable en- 
emy that seeks the life of the Republic, is Slavery ; and now 
that the issue has been forced upon us, the destruction of this 
great evil has become an imperative necessity, an inevitable 
measure of self-defence. Its overthrow is demanded as the 
only guarantee for national security, now or hereafter. It 
originated and has sustained the rebellion, and it would be 
the grossest solecism to attempt the security of peace by ad- 
hering to and maintaining the cause of war. 

The clans of the Northmen were in the habit of lighting 
fires upon the highest summits of their wild land, that each 
might know that the flame of liberty was still alive and burn- 
ing in the breasts of the other. So^ here, upon this soil of 
Maryland, consecrated long since to religious liberty, have 
we kindled the fires of civil freedom, to be followed by similar 
conflagrations, I trust, in every State of this broad Union. 

Accept, then, my salutations. Senators, upon the new atti- 
tude taken by our dear old Commonwealth. Other States 
have gradually emancipated their slaves, and thus relieved 
themselves of the disadvantages of the institution, but Mary- 
land has accomplished the whole work at once. She has 
struck down, with one blow, the coUossal evil in her midst, 
and advanced, untrammelled, upon the open path to honor 
and success. Let us reflect that we have entered into a field 
of labor demanding all our wisdom, energy and perseverance. 
If we would act with patriotism, philosophy and stateman- 
ship, we must meet the difiiculties before us promptly, com- 
prehensively, honestly. In this march of freedom there must 
be no step backward. To recede would be worse than igno- 
miny. Order, prosperity and progress will succeed to patient 
perseverance in the right course — anarchy, adversity and con- 
tinued strife, as certainly to a policy of compromise and va- 
cillation. We have wiped from our escutcheon the defacing 
blot of slavery — the incubus which has paralyzed our mem- 
bers and stifled our resources, has been lifted ofl". We have 
taken a brave, manly, open stand for human liberty, and we 
must not cease the struggle until we have laid deep in the 
soil of our State the foundations, strong and broad, of endur- 
ing tranquillity and ever-expanding prosperity. 

We are upon the treshold of the first legisLitive session 
under the free Constitution, formed and ratified by the peo- 
pie. Let us elevate ourselves to the magnitude of the work 
before us. The letter of that instrument is nothing if the 
animating principle be absent. We must not only be charged 



5 

ourselves with its spirit and aims, but penetrate the popular 
mind everywhere with the same ardor and resolve. Let there 
he no dalliance, no compromise, with the old wrong. The 
dead past must be buried ; obsolete and effete ideas and dog- 
mas thrown far behind us ; and this great scheme of eman- 
cipation, so nobly inaugurated and so promising of good, 
pushed steadily and perseveringly forward to its true logical 
results. Our favorable geographical relations and undevel- 
oped mineral and vegetable resources, so appropriately al- 
luded to in the recent message of your present able and 
patriotic Governor must, under the wholesome influence of 
free labor, at no very remote period, make Maryland a 
powerful and prosperous State. Invoking, therefore, the 
blessings of that Being, whose hand has been visible in all 
our struggles for National life, let us, merging all differences 
and burying all personal animosities, unite in opening for 
our grand old State, a high, expanded, pathway, upon which 
she may travel in undiminished lustre, usefulness and success 
for centuries to come. 

To the novel position with which I am charged as President 
of the Senate, I bear the most sincere desire to perform its 
duties with promptness and precision^ but I fear, with very 
moderate qualifications for the task. Wholly inexperienced 
in the practical duties of legislation, I shall, not unfrequenfcly, 
be compelled to cast myself upon your indulgence. In return, 
while endeavoring to act promptly and impartially, I hope 
never to be discovered deficient, for an instant, in the cour- 
tesy and consideration eminently due each and every member 
of this honorable body. 

In the course of the session, conflicting opinions, upon topics 
of public concern, may, sometimes^ lead to ardent and excit- 
ing discussion, but let it be remembered that personalities 
should ever be assiduously avoided. No one, I am sure, will 
be inclined to forget that the Senate Chamber is regarded by 
the outside world as the model of legislative propriety, dig- 
nity and gentlemanly bearing. 

Praying that you may enjoy a pleasant sojourn in the 
"ancient city," and find cheerful homes and happy hearts at 
its close, I now enter upon the prescribed duties of my 
office. 



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